The Passion of the Christ

The Passion of the Christ! Could you imagine? I decided to watch it again this Good Friday. Oh my! I sat and watched, alone in my office, taking notes about the scenes and doing a Visio Divina of sorts. Here are my notes:

Jesus continues to be tempted in the Garden of Gethsemane but remains steadfast in prayer and maintains His strength to endure suffering.

betrayal

Judas, filled with regret, forgets the love, mercy and compassion of the Lord. He forgets about the power of prayer and begins to despair to the point of death.

Peter, however, regardless of the darkness he witnesses and the guilt he feels over his denial, recalls who his friend is and what He promised. He understands his role in the drama and relies on the Truth, capital T, to set him free of guilt and despair. I’m guessing through his open confession of his denial given to Mary, the sting becomes more bearable.

temptation and lies

Memories of what He will leave behind – mom, love, work, peace, caring family – still do not deter him from literally walking through the pain. A sure sign of what it means to detach from those things that distract us from life’s journey.

Joseph, Christ’s foster-father and our spiritual father was referred to as “the obscure carpenter” by the haters in the movie. Really? Raising the Son of God. The man charged with teaching faith and vocation and keeping the family safe – obscure?

strength through scourging

Anyone who has seen the movie knows how brutal the scenes of Jesus’ scourging were. All I could think was “I did this,” “I had a hand in the buffets and spitting.” How? Through the laziness, complacency, lack of reverence, disobedience, lack of charity, judgment, etc.

Mary, pillar of strength and grace. As she witnesses the physical abuse of her Son who has been wrongly accused, she manages to hold it together because of her intimate relationship with the Father. She truly knew the reason for this “season” of suffering and accepted it. Mary knew what it meant to be detached in a sense. She didn’t ask, “why my child?” Mom didn’t try to stop it. She simply asked “my Son, where, when and how will you choose to be delivered from this? She was willing to sacrifice for the greater good. All for the glory of God!

character identification

On the other hand, we see the barbaric and evil acts committed against Jesus by the Roman soldiers. The scene is full of ignorance. Ignorance of the ones participating by beating Jesus and those participating by standing on the sidelines. Can we identify with them? Of course we can. How often do we witness injustice and do nothing, say nothing? How often do we sin in the varied ways we act and fail to act?

We can all identify with the characters of the Passion. Often we put ourselves in the scene to compare ourselves to those who betrayed Jesus and take stock of how we do that today. I recently heard a podcast where the priest suggested we put ourselves in the scene as Jesus. Can you identify with Jesus?

How often do you feel betrayed by others or suffer at the hands of another? How often are you unjustly accused or feel beaten, weak and abused? Who has done that to you? Have you forgiven them as Christ has forgiven you for all you have done and failed to do? Can you offer it for the salvation of others, as Christ did and put it behind you? Can you bear it all patiently and see it as an opportunity to be in solidarity with Christ in order to grow closer to Him?

how to help

Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry His cross and stands up for Him when he thinks the abuse is just too much. He risked his life by standing up for Christ. Can you place yourself in Simon’s shoes? How can we help Jesus carry His cross? How can we be like Simon?

• follow his commandments;
• love one another as he has loved us – that means: humility, forgiveness, seeing Him in all His creation, it’s the only way!
• Read Scripture – get to know Him and His story;
• love your enemies and pray for your persecutors;
• worship Him, revere Him, pray with Him; participate in the sacraments and in His plan for your life;
• detach
• bear your crosses patiently – don’t will them away; don’t ignore them or run from them but ask God for strength to get through them, as Jesus did;
• offer your sufferings as Jesus did. How could anyone be as heartless as those Roman soldiers. Yet he forgave them. They knew not what they were doing and neither do we, neither do the people who hurt us! Isn’t it easier to forgive someone if you believe they do not know what they are doing?

moral of the story

Bottom line is, Christ is VICTORIOUS! The evil one could not convince Him to back out the plan for salvation, no matter how difficult or painful the road was. How does the story of Christ’s Passion speak to you in your life? In the midst of the present pandemic? He made Himself and ALL THINGS new! Take courage! Praise be to God!